About Me

Tell Draper picked up his first camera at the age of… yada yada yada... and has won over sixteen million frickidy doo awards…
I really dislike these “About” sections. You’re supposed to brag about yourself in the third person hoping to impress. Not to say that I’m not thrilled to have you here poking around in my galleries, and I certainly do hope you’re impressed enough to consider contracting me to shoot your portraits or events.
What I will tell you about myself is that I LOVE what I do and it shows in my interaction with clients and their guests. The picture to the left is probably the only time you'll see me without a smile on my face. What I hear most from my clients is “I hate taking pictures, but you made it fun.” “I’ve heard so many nice comments about you from my guests.” “I didn’t even notice you were there” and my favorite of all- “WE LOVE THE PICTURES!”
My goal when shooting a job is to capture images that will be treasured for generations to come. I shoot events with a combination style of journalistic/editorial and traditional exposures. Even when shooting posed groups, I try and shoot between the poses because that’s where the real moments happen. And “real moments” are where the art is.
OK, I guess I should share a bit “About” myself, this being the “about” section of my site and all.
I was born on the Summer Solstice of 1963. I went to Stevenson High School and graduated from the University of Nebraska with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and minors in Theater and English. I worked as a full time actor/model/spokesperson/voice talent for over twenty years performing in over a 1000 productions for just about every Fortune 500 company out there. I continue servicing several companies including AT&T with voiceovers, but have let my on-camera acting career go for now.
I’ve always loved photography. In fact during modeling sessions, photographers would get frustrated with me because I was constantly looking around at the lighting setup rather than looking at the lens “Quit looking around! Look at me!”
I almost always shoot with two cameras as I find it gives me the most creative flexibility AND insurance, should one camera die at a once in a lifetime moment. I come to all assignments with backups of every piece of equipment. I shoot all my own events. Canon.
At the moment, my main focus is children’s portraiture, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, and corporate (Abbott Labs, Cartier, Baer Supply…) event and portrait photography. Plans for the future include tiptoeing into the wedding biz, as well as expanding my fine art print business.
I’m happily married with two beautiful children who occasionally assist me with photography assignments. I work out of Vernon Hills, IL. and service Chicago and the suburbs. I'll also travel at an additional fee.
Should you have any other questions “About” me, feel free to contact me through the “Contact” link.
Thanks for stopping by,
Tell

I was out for a run, ok it was a very fast walk with moments of jogging, but anyway, I saw a skimboarder working the flooded parks of Vernon Hills. It’s not very often you see a skimboarder in Vernon Hills. I called my son TJ and he road his bike over to see if […]

TJ with a large mouth bass TJ pulled a big ole catfish up! I’ve never seen a catfish out of this lake in 35 years of fishing it. Moments after TJ caught his bass, Gil pulled up an even bigger one. Nice sunfish Gil! Gil and TJ amused by the strange noises of the photographer […]